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The Code Block macro allows you to display source code in your page with syntax highlighting, like the one below:

Add the Code Block Macro

From the editor toolbar, choose Insert > Other Macros

Find and select the required macro

Speed it up with autocomplete: Type { and the beginning of the macro name, to see a list of suggested macros. In this example we're inserting the cheese macro.

To edit an existing macro: Click the macro placeholder and choose Edit. This will open the macro details, so you can edit the macro parameters.

You type the code block directly into the macro placeholder in the editor. Note that any white space contained in the placeholder is not manipulated in any way by the Code Block macro. This is to provide the writer with flexibility over code indentation.

Parameters

Parameters are options that you can set to control the content or format of the macro output. Where the parameter name used in Confluence storage format or wikimarkup is different to the label used in the macro browser, it will be listed below in brackets (example).

Parameter

Default

Description

Syntax highlighting(language)

java

Specifies the language (or environment) for syntax highlighting. The default language is Java but you can choose from one of the following languages/environments:

ActionScript

AppleScript

Bash

C#

C++

CSS

ColdFusion

Delphi

Diff

Erlang

Groovy

HTML and XML

Java

Java FX

JavaScript

Plain Text

PowerShell

Python

Ruby

SQL

Sass

Scala

Visual Basic

YAML

Title

none

Adds a title to the code block. If specified, the title will be displayed in a header row at the top of the code block.

Collapsible(collapse)

false

If selected, the code macro's content will be collapsed upon visiting or refreshing the Confluence page. Clicking the expand source link allows you to view this content. If false, the code macro's content is always displayed in full.

Show line numbers(linenumbers)

false

If selected, line numbers will be shown to the left of the lines of code.

First line number(firstline)

1

When Show line numbers is selected, this value defines the number of the first line of code.

Theme

Default

Specifies the color scheme used for displaying your code block. Many of these themes are based on the default color schemes of popular integrated development environments (IDEs). The default theme is Confluence (also known as Default), which is typically black and colored text on a blank background. However, you can also choose from one of the following other popular themes:

DJango

Emacs

FadeToGrey

Midnight

RDark

Eclipse

Confluence

Configure the Code Block macro

You can configure the Code Block macro to use a specific language and theme by default and also upload new lanuages. You need Confluence Administrator permissions to change the default theme and language and System Administrator permissions to upload new languages.

To set the default appearance of code blocks in your site:

Choose the cog icon , then choose General Configuration

Choose Configure Code Macro

Select a Default Theme and Default Language

Choose Save

All new code blocks will use the default theme and language unless you specify otherwise. Existing code blocks will be unchanged.

To add an additional language:

Choose the cog icon , then choose General Configuration

Choose Configure Code Macro

Choose Add a new language

Locate your language file and enter a Name for the new language (this will appear when selecting the language)

Choose Add

Language files must be correctly formatted JavaScript files and adhere to the Custom Brush syntax.

To disable or remove a user-installed language:

Choose the cog icon , then choose General Configuration

Choose Manage Apps

Go to User-installed Apps and locate the app for your uploaded language - it will appear like this 'Custom Code Macro Highlighting for...'

Choose Uninstall or Disable

The language will no longer appear in the Code Macro.

Wiki markup example

This example is useful when you want to add a macro outside the editor, for example as custom content in the sidebar, header or footer of a space.

Macro name:code

Macro body: Accepts plain text.

{code:title=This is my title|theme=FadeToGrey|linenumbers=true|language=java|firstline=0001|collapse=true}
This is my code
{code}

tip/resting
Created with Sketch.

Do more with Confluence

Extend Confluence with one of the hundreds of other macros in the Atlassian Marketplace. Some of our most popular include: